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When Israel bombed buildings outside the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, Mohamed Arkadan and his team rushed to an emergency unlike anything they had ever seen.
About a dozen apartments had collapsed onto the hillside they once overlooked, burying more than 100 people. Even after 17 years with the civil defense forces of one of the world's most war-torn nations, Arkadan was shocked at the destruction. By Monday afternoon — about 24 hours after the bombing — his team had pulled more than 40 bodies, including children's, from the rubble, along with 60 survivors.
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French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday condemned "in the strongest possible terms" Iran's attacks against Israel, adding that France had "mobilized" its military resources in the Middle East to counter Tehran.
Macron also demanded that "Hezbollah cease its terrorist actions against Israel and its population", and asked Israel to "put an end to their military operations as soon as possible", the Elysee Palace said in a statement, adding France would "shortly be organizing a conference in support of the Lebanese people and its institutions".
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Hezbollah said Wednesday it clashed with Israeli soldiers who tried to infiltrate into Lebanon, and also targeted Israeli troops across the border.
Hezbollah fighters confronted "an Israeli enemy infantry force that tried to infiltrate into the village of Adaysseh... and clashed with them... and forced them to withdraw", a statement said. Hezbollah fighters later clashed with troops who crossed into Maroun al-Ras, "inflicting casualties among them."
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An Israeli strike Wednesday targeted Choueifat, south of Beirut, after a night of repeated strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.
At least five Israeli strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs early Wednesday, a Lebanese security source said.
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The Israeli army on Wednesday called for the evacuation of additional villages in southern Lebanon, a day after a similar evacuation call after the military announced the launch of ground operations.
"Evacuate your homes immediately. Be careful, you must not go south. Any southward movement may put you in danger," said Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee in a post on social media, calling on residents to evacuate over 20 new villages and towns in south Lebanon.
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At least 17 Israeli strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs early Wednesday, as the Israeli military said it was targeting alleged Hezbollah sites and issued several evacuation orders.
AFP correspondents heard multiple explosions and saw smoke rising in one area while a fire appeared to burn.
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Egypt’s top diplomat on Tuesday deplored Israel’s “serious escalation” in southern Lebanon, after the Israeli military said it launched a “limited and focused” ground incursion.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelaty warned that Israel’s escalation threatens to inflame the entire region “in a way that will lead to dire security and humanitarian consequences,” according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
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The Israeli military said it launched a fresh strike on south Beirut on Tuesday.
"The IDF (Israeli military) conducted a precise strike in Beirut," the statement said, without offering details, while local media outlets reported simultaneous strikes on an apartment in a building in Jnah near al-Zahraa Hospital, and on another region in Beirut's southern suburbs.
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The Israeli army has been carrying out secretive ground operations to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanese villages close to the border for the past year, military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Tuesday.
He said that the current ground maneuvers in Lebanon are an expansion of the previous year’s operations.
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The Israeli army mobilized four additional brigades to be deployed in missions along the northern border, the military said on Tuesday, after it claimed ground operations targeting Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon overnight.
"This will enable the continuation of operational activity against the Hezbollah terrorist organization and the achievement of operational goals, including the safe return of the residents of northern Israel to their homes," the army said in a statement.
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